The Decaf Project
$ 20.00
Pre-orders Only - Orders will ship by December 6th - Whole Bean only
About This Project
The Decaf Coffee Project is a global coffee tasting event headed up by James Hoffmann: former World Barista Champion, coffee entrepreneur, YouTuber, consultant, and should-be hair model. The goal of this project is to showcase three different decaffeination methods along side one non-decaffeinated coffee, all produced from a single lot of coffee. To our knowledge, no experiment like this has been done before and certainly not on such a public-facing scale.
James has hosted several other global tasting events and we cannot tell you how excited we are to be able to be part of this one, especially as the subject of decaf coffee is so near and dear to our hearts. Read more about this project and live tasting here
Each set includes 4 samples (30g or 3oz (85g) each) of 4 different decaf processing methods all of a single coffee lot from Huila, Colombia. The four processing methods will include:
- One non-decaffeinated washed process coffee
- One Coffein Compagnie - Ethyl Acetate (EA) Decaffeination coffee
- One Swiss Water® Process Decaffeination coffee
- One CR3-Kaffeeveredelung M. Hermsen - CO2 Subcritical Decaffeination coffee
About the Coffee:
The coffee growers in the community of Guadalupe, in Huila, have a long and rich farming tradition of hand harvesting, hand de-pulping, and washing coffees in the typical manner found in Huila: after de-pulping, the coffee is fermented for 16-36 hours, and then undergoes 2-3 washings before being dried under shade in covered facilities for 15-25 days. Furthermore, these growers are dedicated to sustainable practices and many have even received the Rainforest Certification. Each family in the region typically possesses their own wet mill and drying infrastructure, with an average farm size of 5 hectares.
About the Decaffeination Processes:
Coffein Compagnie - Ethyl Acetate (EA) Decaffeination
This method uses ethyl acetate, a natural compound found in coffee, fruit and sugarcane, to gently extract caffeine from coffee beans whilst preserving flavor. The beans are first steamed to open their cellular structure, then an ethyl acetate solution is applied, selectively removing the caffeine. After the extraction, the beans are steamed again to eliminate any residual ethyl acetate and are then dried back to their original moisture content. This is the process that we source most often at Rose Park.
Swiss Water® Process
In the Swiss Water® Process, caffeine is removed using water, temperature, and time. The beans are rehydrated and placed in contact with a Green Coffee Extract (GCE), which contains all of the coffee’s soluble solids except caffeine. This creates an osmotic imbalance that allows caffeine to diffuse out of the beans into the GCE, preserving the coffee’s original flavor while still removing the caffeine. The process takes 8-10 hours and reduces the caffeine content to less than 0.1%.
CR3-Kaffeeveredelung M. Hermsen - CO2 Subcritical Decaffeination
This decaffeination method employs natural carbon dioxide under low temperature and pressure to gently extract caffeine from the beans. The moistened beans are placed in a vessel where pressurized CO₂ circulates through them, selectively removing the caffeine. This process is fully organic certified.
Roasting Schedule:
This set is a pre-order sale with a very limited quantity. We are currently accepting pre-orders for a tentative roasting date of December 5th and 6th, 2024. All orders will be roasted and sent out on December 5th and 6th in order for the coffee sets to arrive in time for the tasting event tentatively scheduled for December 15th.
